Explain and comment on the methods taught in primary schools and at
home used to help children learn to read and write.
Children’s learning to read and write from an early age is essential
to their growth in the educational and working aspects of their lives.
There have been many theories and methods used to teach children to
read and write and to develop that knowledge. This essay will explain
and discuss some of these methods. This will include theories by David
Crystal, Gunther Kress, Jeanne S. Chall and B.M. Kroll. Also included
will be some methods used to teach children to read and write, such as
the “Look and Say” method taken from Oxford Reading Tree reading
books, and the phonetics exercises taken from Jolly Phonics workbooks.
It has been said that the real insight into a child’s progress is
literacy as it is seen as a way of opening a child’s mind to logical
and imaginative thinking as well as their intellectual and emotional
development. As a result emphasis in primary school curriculums has
been on teaching children to read. An example of one of the methods
used can be found in David Crystal’s book “Language Development in
School”, where he explains the use of “Basal reading programmes”. He
says in his text that Basal reading programmes are “widely used in the
U.S…. a large-scale system of preparatory texts, graded readers,
workbooks, tests and other materials”. Crystal also comments on the
advantages of this method as “comprehensive, graded, carefully
planned, children get to know the characters, settings etc”. Crystal
describes the disadvantages as “expensive, can be used inflexibly,
does not promote an exploratory use of language outside the scheme”.
From this I found this scheme to be a...
... middle of paper ...
... looking at the theories of some of the linguists
I have found that I have come to agree with the individualised
programme mentioned earlier. I found that a child will only learn if
engaged and interested, and also having some level of independence
causes them to use creative thinking and broaden their imagination.
This also gives them skills for research and independent learning that
they will need in later life. I also agree with the phonetic approach
to teaching children to read. I agree with this as again it engages
the child into what is being taught, for at a young age a child tends
to focus on sounds and actions around them than focusing on a page.
Also the repetition of the sounds and the actions that go with them
helps with reading a lot more as it is easier for them to read by
sounding out, but also teaches them the structure of words and sounds.
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
I want to share the experience that I got from reading to the little kids in Washington school. This had been my first time doing community service so I was a little nervous, I didn't think that the kids where going to like me. But when I go to the school and saw the lovable little kids I felt much better. When we got into little groups and started reading they started hugging me and reading along. They made me feel good and I was ready to come back next Thursday. This was the greatest experience that I had ever had, I felt like a teacher and it fells great to have those little kids liking you.
Gunning, Thomas G. "Chapters 1 & 2." Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students: International Edition. Boston, Mas.: Pearson, 2013. N. pag. Print.
...things together. Therefore, arithmetic and books that teaches logic are introduced to a child at this stage. For example, a child is taught basic addition and subtraction, that is one plus one, two, three and so forth. In so doing, a child develops skills to make simple decisions and judgment. Their skill of reasoning is also enhanced. Thereafter, a child grows to the normal school ongoing age. Here, such children have to be taught to internalize with the environment in a more effective way. They mental capacity is much greater to accommodate more aspects of reasoning and logic. Teachers use books such as story books, advanced mathematics integrated with social interaction so that they discover things by their own. The main objective is to get them effectively interact with the environment. This enhances their development towards normal functioning human beings.
“Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.... Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man,
Growing up in working class family, my mom worked all the time for the living of a big family with five kids, and my dad was in re-education camp because of his association with U.S. government before 1975. My grandma was my primary guardian. “Go to study, go to read your books, read anything you like to read if you want to have a better life,” my grandma kept bouncing that phrase in my childhood. It becomes the sole rule for me to have better future. I become curious and wonder what the inside of reading and write can make my life difference. In my old days, there was no computer, no laptop, no phone…etc, to play or to spend time with, other than books. I had no other choice than read, and read and tended to dig deep in science books, math books, and chemistry books. I tended to interest in how the problem was solved. I even used my saving money to buy my own math books to read more problems and how to solve the problem. I remembered that I ended up reading the same math book as my seventh grade teacher. She used to throw the challenge questions on every quiz to pick out the brighter student. There was few students know how to solve those challenge questions. I was the one who fortunately nailed it every single time. My passion and my logic for reading and writing came to me through that experience, and also through my grandma and my mom who plant the seed in me, who want their kids to have happy and better life than they were. In my own dictionary, literacy is not just the ability to read and write, it is a strong foundation to build up the knowledge to have better life, to become who I am today.
Literacy is defined as “the ability to use available symbol systems that are fundamental to learning and teaching for the purposes of comprehending and composing, for the purposes of making and communicating meaning and knowledge” (Stock, 2012), and it is one of the most essential skills that an early year student will learn. Literacy serves to provide the building blocks for the continued knowledge acquisition and general education of individuals of all ages; by working to understand and identify how and why literacy is taught using the structured literacy block format in Australian schools, and in identifying the benefits of utilizing this type of tool for teaching literacy in student’s early years, it will be possible to gain a better understanding of the organization, planning, and teaching approaches that are used in a literacy block approach. A sample standard literacy block will be provided, offering the means of understanding the applications of the tool, which will serve to further stress the necessity of this tool’s usage.
I believe that learning is a journey that both child and educator set out on together. This journey is a privilege that I take seriously, realizing that a child’s early years are a key formative time in their life. I believe that it is during this time that important foundations are being set in place that will not only impact them in the present but will also influence them later on in life.
In today’s society, a vast number of people are well educated. They have the equal opportunity to choose their own path in life by getting an education. A primary educational aspect of every human being is to learn to read. Being able to read is a primary goal of people in human society, as well as important in itself to society; it takes people far beyond their wildest dreams. A person who is literate has few limitations on what they can do; the world is an open playing field, because a person that is literate has the ability to become very successful in life.
Literature is a key component when speaking of literacy. Teachers need to provide students with endless amounts of practice experiences in reading to build their fluency rate. This should be done with different genres of texts and different levels. Reading a wide variety of literature help children develop rich vocabularies.
Literacy is most commonly understood as reading and writing. But before children can read and write, they need to learn about sound, words, language, books and stories (Raising Children, 2015). Children begin to develop and gain knowledge quite differently and with support and developmentally appropriate learning skills children will also come to understand the connection between letters and sounds. Literacy development or early literacy is the most essential in the first three years of life as it the earliest experience children have with language, sound and the positive interactions between child and adult. Vygotsky (1978) believed in how children developed, and the important role of adults in leading child’s early development. The interactions
The education of children has existed since the beginning of time as parents have taught and molded their children into the young adults they desired them to be. Initial training of children was not in a formal setting, although history would see numerous settings, purposes, and methodological changes. Philosophies of education have also changed through the years as various voices have seemed to grasp the purpose of educating the next generation, thus laying out objectives to reach those goals of teaching children.
Literacy is an on-going skill that teachers and students alike should commonly study and practice in all grades. Problems faced by teachers, especially teachers in higher grades, are not having the skills to be effective teachers of literacy. To effectively teach literacy across content areas, a teacher would need skills such as knowledge of the reading process and the ability to cultivate the knowledge gained in order to make informed decisions within their classrooms (Clary, Oglan, Styslinger,
John Steinbeck stated that “Learning to read is probably the most difficult and revolutionary thing that happens to the human brain, and if you don 't believe that, watch an illiterate adult try to do it.” (142). The first time a child really understands the concept of reading it becomes an introduction to a whole new world. When one thinks of literacy the first thing one thinks of is the ability to be able to read and write. But literacy is much more than that, to me literacy is the key to all forms of knowledge as being literate opens up the doors to all forms of learning and continued learning. Building confidence as a reader, writer, listener and speaker is transformational in a person 's life. These core abilities are used every minute of every day to live in the world. Even in society a large degree of importance is placed on literacy. The in-class text by Sylvia Scribner states “I want to depict that is, the tendency in many societies to endow the literate person with special virtues”. (16) Throughout my life literacy has played a very important role, and has evolved and manifested itself in different styles, from my introduction as a small child
Reading to children can teach them skills they’ll need throughout their entire life. Reading aloud not only enhances their skills, it also affects how the their school life is. Being read to regularly is important to maintain the skills that the child learns, the earlier a child is being read to, the more skills they acquire. Parents will benefit from reading also, it creates a bond with their child that last a lifetime. Reading aloud will introduce children to books and reading so they can eventually do it on their own. Reading to children can improve many aspects of their life.